Kautokeino
Writing a blog can be exciting, intimidating, humiliating, and most of all, risky. As I have been writing my experiences about my time here in Kautokeino, I have been shining everything in a somewhat humorous and positive light. Of course, I appreciate my time here and yet at the same I know no place is perfect. My brother requested that I write about the pros and cons of living here versus living back in the States. I felt like now was the perfect moment to share my thoughts…
Someone once asked me what has surprised me most about living here… the very first thing that came to mind was the partying. In the U.S. I am used to people going out with friends or hosting parties at home but guests would normally go back home by 2 or 3 am. The first time I went out with friends here, I came back at 4 am and thought, ohhh, I am SO tired! And yet, while I was collapsing into bed everyone else I had been hanging out with was off to another party. Due to the expensive prices, people here typically have a pre-party at their home before they go out to a pub and then once businesses close they go to an after party, where people can often stay up till the sun shines once again. Most of my friends who are Norwegian or Sámi can’t understand how I could stop at 4 am while I was wondering how they were still surviving! This surprised me very much and still I am not used to this.
Another thing that surprised me was how small Kautokeino really is. With a population around 3,000 residents, Kautokeino is not the smallest place I have been to but, at the same time, I am often reminded of how small Kauto can be…… I once walked into a store and was approached by a stranger…this gentleman walked up to me and said in Sámi, “You‘re the American…” and when I responded, “Yes?” he then just walked away and left the store, never seeing him again! Then another time I was about to introduce myself to someone new and just as I started to say, “Bures, mu namma lea…” (Hi, my name is…) he replied, “Don leat Melissa (You are Melissa), du sockernamma lea Lantto (Your last name is Lantto) … ja don leat Amerihkkas eret muhto du Lantto fulkkiid muonios eret (and you come from America but your Lantto ancestors/relatives come from Muonio.” You can only imagine how surprised I was … I had never met this guy before and so I of course asked, “oh, wow… how did you know all that??” and he replied with a laugh, “Kautokeino is a very small place.” Similar scenarios have happened to me more and more. It is really amazing… but I guess word really does travel fast in a small place like Kautokeino. Generally, everyone that I have met has welcomed me and been excited that I have come here. It’s not every day that an American comes to Kautokeino to be an au pair and learns Sámi.
Of course my experience has been really positive in regards to learning North Sámi. Generally the people have been so excited that I am learning and, in fact, I have been interviewed on Norwegian/Sámi and local news three times now. Each time they were curious to know why I decided to come here and how my experience has been. Positive feedback and simple curiosity has made all the difference with my learning. Despite my many mistakes, I still want to try because people are so excited that I am learning this language. Though, I am not that good yet! I think one of the hardest parts for me is pronunciation ….and I have to be careful with that. Last week when I was interviewed for NRK, I thought I was saying, “I have many Sámi friends here” but I actually said, “I have many buyers here…” the way I said it made me sound like I was selling myself!! In that example, mispronunciation made a crucial difference!!! Luckily, they were able to cut that part out…whew!
To get back to my brothers original question … Some days Kautokeino can be too small for me. While it can be charming that people seem to know each other quite well here, it can be difficult to be new as well, someone who was not raised in Kautokeino. While generally everyone is welcoming, it is hard for me to really get to know the people from here. Most of my friends, as a result, are students from other areas studying now in Kauto. Additionally, the partying is something I am not sure I will ever get used to … BUT with all that being said … I appreciate how people really help each other out here. People really seem to support each other within their family and social circles … Also, they know who their family is and they really value that. While in the U.S. some of my friends, I am sure, are tired to hear about my Sámi heritage, here youth know so much about their family history and are interested in talking about it.
In terms of food… I must admit some pros are the reindeer tongue, cloudberries, statoil coffee (government run gas station), brown cheese …. on the flip side, some cons … not being able to purchase butter in Norway, eating so much bread, and, well,… the prices!
In terms of weather… Pro: the sky is much more expressive and I have never seen the moon and sun so close to earth…
Con: the dark period. I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t suffer a little without seeing the sun for a few months.
All in all though, I really can’t say which place is better to live…Minnesota or Kautokeino…I have appreciated living in Kautokeino. Here almost everyone speaks Sámi, so I can learn the language and speak it virtually everywhere … there really isn’t any other place exactly like Kauto that way. So I definitely have appreciated my time here, however, I am keeping my eyes open for other locations in Sápmi to move to. As of this August my position will end and I don’t yet know where I will be… in the U.S. or in Sápmi? Only time will tell…….
